FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE EASTER - YEAR C

FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE EASTER – YEAR C (Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rev 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30) Theme: Let us listen to the voice and follow the footprints of the Good Shepherd Reflection: Jesus is Our Good Pastor and we are His Sheep - We enter into the fourth week of the Easter season. We still carry within our hearts the joy of resurrection. We are risen with Christ and thus we are no more slaves for the suffering and death. We have already leant live with constant joy the difficult moments of our life, even to confront the death with the smile on the face, because of the faith in the Risen Jesus and because of the love we have for him. Jesus has come out of the tomb victorious and has given the power to us also to break open the tombs of our depressed lives. All this is the content and message of resurrection. The three Sundays that have gone ahead have presented to us the hope we need to cherish. We have reflected how Jesus has confirmed Thomas in the true faith in the Sunday that followed Easter. We have meditated how Jesus has entrusted his mission of feeding the sheep to Peter after leading him to the true conversion of the heart with the confession of love. Thomas has become new creature after encountering the Risen Jesus personally. Peter has become a new being after meeting the Risen Jesus with the miraculous catch of the fish. So too all the disciples, and the many others, who have seen Risen Jesus have become new persons and in turn have come the witnesses of life. “Becoming Anew” is the gift of the Risen Jesus. He offers them the possibility of being renewed and re-consecrated. In fact, he leads them to the status of chosen people of God. He reaches them to the God’s fold. Here Jesus finally manifests himself as the Good Shepherd. - The readings are quite different today. They do not belong to the resurrection narratives. The Church puts forward the readings taken from the discourse of Jesus on the Good Shepherd and thus from the tenth chapter of John. The Church emphasizes that the ultimate realization of the self-affirmation of Jesus of being a Good Pastor takes place only after he has confronted the death and risen from the dead. The word becomes a reality. The promise becomes an actuality. He said that he is the good shepherd. Now he has become the true Good Shepherd. It is in this context that the Church brings us into the presence of the Risen Pastor. Let us thus celebrate the Sunday of Good Shepherd. We have to continue sing the Psalm: we are the sheep that he guides. For the general context we can contemplate on the Psalm 23, the hymn of the good shepherd. God himself is the Divine Shepherd. As a shepherd he leads his people: firstly into the good pastures and restores life, secondly into the secured resting places, and thirdly into the divine life with the rite of anointing. The same God who is the Divine Pastor sends his Son to be a guide and shepherd. Jesus reveals the nature of the good shepherd and finally he realizes in his own life and becomes an Eternal Pastor. That’s the reason why today we have before us both the figure and mission of the Good Shepherd. Let us ponder over his presence and his call and know what he is for us and what we are for him. This leads us to understand and to live the authentic rapport that has to exist between the Shepherd and the sheep. Readings: Listening – Knowing – Following the Risen Shepherd - The context – Jesus responds to the Jews: The gospel passage is taken from the discourse that Jesus makes during the Jewish festival of the Dedication of the Jerusalem Temple. Jews come questioning Jesus whether he is the Christ (Jn 10:24). It is not only here but in various other instances we see Jews questioning Jesus about his identity (Jn 2:18; 5:16; 8:25). The same question of Jews and religious authority about Jesus is found also in the other gospels (Math 26:23; Mk 14:61; Lk 22:67). They insist him to answer openly and clearly explain his personality and mission. It is here that Jesus explains the rapport between the Pastor (the Christ) and the sheep (the Church). At the beginning of the chapter 10 of John, the declaration of Jesus being the Good Shepherd is presented. Jesus explains it very elaborately enumerating the distinction between the two types of shepherds: one works for the payment and another works for love. The first one is the hirer who feed the sheep for the wage and when some danger happens to the sheep he runs away to safeguard himself. The second one is qualitatively different. He is the good shepherd who stands ahead of the sheep and saves them even at the cost of his own life. The long narration is evident in John 10:1-21. Even after explaining so clearly, presenting to them the figure of speech, the Jews did not understand the parable of the pastor. Now, once again, they demand Jesus to give a clear revelation of his identity. In reality, they fail to expose their willingness to listen to Jesus. Moreover, they find difficult to comprehend and to believe him because of their pride and arrogance. The language that Jesus uses is not a new one for them. It is very common thing. Moreover, they are well versed with the Psalms which explain God as the Divine Shepherd. They are all shepherds and they can understand easily what Jesus is telling. But they remain untouched and unmoved because of their unfaithfulness to God. They only pretend with the incomprehension. For such kind of people it is useless to explain because, not their ears and not even their heart is ready to accept him. knowing this Jesus answers them very shortly. The gospel passage is derived from this response of Jesus. Though the response appears long, what is given in today’s liturgical reading is the first part of the answer of Jesus to the Jews. - Good Pastor – calls, knows and offers: The attitude of the good shepherd is evident in the discourse of Jesus. The three-way relationship of the shepherd to the sheep: he calls, he knows and he offers himself. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He calls his disciples and his chosen one. Not only gives them the possibility of entering into his fold, but above all, he knows them. He knows the existential condition and the situation of his sheep. The knowledge of them leads him to an immense love for them. He offers his life. He does not leave his sheep all alone. He stays with them until the end. He redeems them. He sees that no one can trap his sheep and makes them fall into the pit. He carries them, if necessary, on his shoulders. He leads them all into one fold, so that there will be only one shepherd and one sheep. - Good Sheep – listens, knows and follows: The attitude of the sheep, on the other hand, is also three-fold. The sheep has to listen to the voice of the pastor, has to enter into the authentic knowledge of him and finally has to follow in his footsteps. The three verbs, listening – knowing – following, have an spiritual significance. o Listening means not just hearing. It means embracing the voice and placing it in the heart. Jesus speaks and gives his word. The word is given and destined to be received. The sheep has to put it in the heart with intensity. The listening needs the attention and demands the obedience. The one who listen with the willing spirit cannot but obey it. It is from this obedient embracing of the voice that the knowledge for the one who gives the word is generated. Listening leads to the knowledge of the speaker. o Knowing means not just getting information. A genuine knowledge is far beyond just cognition. It means, in profundity, to enter into the very personality and life of the other. When one listens to the other, he get knowledge of him. He knows what he is and who is. It generates not only interest in the person but also a desire be with him. In other words, the knowledge of the person opens the space for the friendship and love. It is this pure knowledge that leads one to the following the person. o Following means not just going after one person with blind obedience. It means to take the stand of the other. It means to learn from his principles. It means to imbibe the qualitative personality and action of the other. It means, finally and ultimately, to become the other. Conclusion: We are the Good Sheep - Choice with the Knowledge: We are called to be the sheep that belongs to the fold of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. When we receive his call, we need to enter into the knowledge of him. With the knowledge of him and with the conscious awareness we have to make our choice. Though we have knowledge we are still free to make our own selection. We may accept or we may reject. The choice is ours. But the pure and authentic knowledge of Jesus certainly leads us choose him. Jesus only invites us and reveals the true life and wishes that we are enter into it but he never forces or insists anybody to accept it. He leaves the decision to the individual. Therefore, if we really listen to the voice of Jesus, we can enter into the relationship with him, and the bond between him and us becomes stronger and stronger because of love that is generated. With this we choose Jesus to be our true shepherd. - Leave aside other ways and walk in the Way: Our choice of Jesus cannot be a superficial and formal following. Jesus demands: “if anyone wants to follow me renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me”. The true opting for Jesus asks us for our full participation in his life. We need to leave, first of all, all other things. We are indeed circled by many other voices, many other ways and many other ideologies. We need to analyze and see what is authentic and true in these. Once we know that one way is genuine we need to leave aside all other ways. It is not that we do not know or we do not want to know the other voices. We need to know all of them. We need to enter into the content of them. We need to distinguish the elements that are within them. We have to be aware of its usefulness and also limitedness. Only with the complete knowledge and analysis we need to chose One Way. Once we chose Jesus, we need to throw aside all other things as merely a means to place ourselves in the true Way. Jesus has done the same thing. In order to choose the Way and Will of the Father, Jesus has renounced his heavenly glory and with obedience has trodden the path, the Way, until it becomes the Way of the Cross. Living for Jesus and becoming “other Christ” is only the aim that we need to have once we choose him. It is the example given by the Eternal and True Pastor, Jesus Christ himself. Therefore, let us listen to the voice and follow the footprints of Our Good Shepherd. This is the Easter task that the Church entrusts to each of us today and from today. Alleluia.